Vaulting the Walls with Wireless: AT&T may use cellular to invade the Bells' local-phone turf

AT&T is furiously working on a technology that would allow it to bypass the wired network in cities and towns across the nation. Using a combination of digital cellular and personal communications systems (PCS), a low-cost digital wireless technology, AT&T could begin offering location connections as early as late this year. If the effort succeeds, customers in many regions of the country would be able to use the same cordless phone to call from home, around town, and in the car - and pay only slightly higher rates than for wired calls. There is a huge financial incentives for AT&T, Sprint and other long-distance carriers to take the wireless route. When they use these setups to connect subscribers to their long-distance networks, they will avoid the access charges levied by local carriers to complete their calls.